After Sunset
by xXToxicValentineXx
Summary: What if there had been a perfect ending where everyone survives? What if this oh-so-perfect ending didn't turn out too perfect for a certain someone, who had been forced to remain living at the rebuilt lodge with no contact to the outside world? And what would happen, if someone he has never met suddenly shows up, neither being aware of the danger they will soon find themselves in?
1. A Bad Decision

_"It's been two years since the second tragedy that befell a group of teenagers on Blackwood Mountain. It all started with the disappearance of Beth and Hannah Washington. The following year the same group went back up to the mountains, only for Joshua Washington, the twins' older brother, to die in a tragic and mysterious fire that burned down the entire lodge. Rumors have it that their parents decided to rebuild the lodge, for reasons unknown. The details are all blurry, but all we know is the loss of these three children. We just hope they've found a better place, and peace for their family."_

Tired, green eyes stared out of the train window, looking up at the partially cloudy sky and the moon. The radio being played by one of the other passengers could be heard clearly from the other cart. Sarah could have been considered a stow away, since she was hiding with the luggage in the back. She couldn't exactly afford a train ticket, and since she was on the run from the police and a gang, she couldn't afford to just sit out in the open like that.

"Do you think his parents really _rebuilt_ the lodge?" The voices could be heard, even if they were slightly muffled.

"It's possible, although I don't see why they would. Wouldn't it just bring back painful memories?"

"Maybe, but it could be their way of mourning?"

Rolling her eyes, Sarah decided she had enough of hearing about the subject. The story had completely swept the nation, and even from first hearing about what happened on the one year anniversary of the twins, she had thought they were all stupid for going back like that. There was definitely more to the story than what the news had published, or those kids had been willing to admit. She ironically referred to them as "kids" considering they all had to be around 20, and she was only seventeen, near eighteen.

The train slowly came to a stop, and the town was announced. Wasn't this the town just below Blackwood Mountain? She glanced out the window, able to see the beautiful, snowcapped mountain from her seat upon two boxes.

 _It's beautiful.._

She wondered if the lodge stories were true. If they were, she highly doubted that the family would actually go back up there, considering the history behind the place. Had Sarah been a superstitious person, she might've thought the ghosts of the three children might haunt the place. But she didn't believe in ghosts, she never had, and she doubted she ever would.

Climbing out through the back door she had come in from, she grabbed her backpack and tossed it over her shoulder, slipping into the crowd among the sidewalk and blending in. The only part of her that could've possibly caused her to stand out might have been her fiery red hair, but even then she thanked the fact she was only 5'3, because that made it easier to blend in. She wondered to herself if she should just stop somewhere and crash for the night, her mind coming up with ideas on how she could possibly get up to that lodge.

It was at that moment that she overheard a couple of people having a conversation about the lodge on the mountain, mostly talking about the dead, or missing, kids. Her gaze shifted in their direction, clearing her throat slightly to make herself known.

"Excuse me, um.. But how did they even get up to the lodge? I'm sorry, I'm new around here and I have only heard bits and pieces of the story."

Both men turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow slightly at her light, southern accent, which made it obvious that she was from the southern parts of the United States, and not Canada.

"Some cable car station, from what I heard. No one can get up there though, considering only the family has the keys."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, trying her hardest not to smirk as he told her this. Could it really be that easy? Hacking, along with breaking and entering, happened to be two things she excelled at. Deciding not to drag the conversation on any further, she nodded once and took off, opening the map that she had already snagged from a passenger's bag from the train. It took a few moments of looking, but finally she saw it, the tiniest marking showing where the cable car station was located, less than a mile away from her location. She finally allowed a smirk to grace her features, her green eyes glancing up to the landscape before her as she slipped the map back into her pocket.

"Blackwood Mountain, here I come."

 **A/N: Yes this is relatively short, I'm sorry. This is mainly supposed to be a quick introduction. My character Sarah is not someone I made up for the sake of this story, but someone I've been using when I roleplay for about four years now. I love writing as her, and hopefully I'll enjoy writing as the upcoming character, as well.**


	2. Shelter

The walk to the cable car station was more boring than anything for the redhead, considering her iPod had officially died, so it wasn't even like she had any music to listen to in the meantime. She gently hummed to herself, her hands hiding in the pockets of her black hoodie as she tried to contain whatever warmth she possibly could. Considering it was dead winter, and she was far from used to being in such harsh conditions, cold would have been an understatement to how she felt. In that moment, all she wanted to do was be curled up by a fire or furnace and just fall asleep, but that seemed too far off at that point.

Upon finally arriving at her destination, she didn't hesitate to fish her lockpick out of her bag, dropping to a knee in front of the door. She slipped the tiny sliver of metal inside the lock, turning it ever so slightly as she gently tugged down on the handle, until finally there was a tiny click, and the door popped open.

"Fuck yes," she mumbled to herself, relieved to be getting the chance to finally be away from the winter weather. She entered the small building, her shivering almost instantly intensifying as her body tried to warm its self up from finally being somewhere not below freezing. Even inside, her breath came out as as a cloudy fog, and she rubbed her arms to build some kind of friction for heat. She stepped further inside to find what seemed to be a type of computer hooked up to the machine that more than likely controlled the cable car.

Stepping forward, she turned on the screen, a brow slightly raised as she pressed a few buttons, to get some kind of idea what she was dealing with. Once she got a clue, she popped her fingers and pulled up an office chair to sit at, knowing this might take a while. She was right on that aspect, because almost an hour had passed, and she was still typing up codes and clicking certain buttons.

"Damn.. Whoever rigged this knew exactly what they were doing.. But what the hell are they trying so hard to keep people from finding up there," she mumbled the question to herself, her curiosity spiking a bit as many different possibilities crossed her mind. Finally, after pushing the last code and key in, a bright green screen popped up, and Sarah fist pumped the air and spun around the chair.

"Hell yes!"

She returned to the computer almost immediately, keying in a few more things, which would cause the cable car to descend from the mountain and come down to her, so she would be able to get inside and ride it up to the mountain. All she could hope is that the station further up would be closer to the lodge than her walk to this station had been. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep.

It took nearly ten minutes, but eventually the cable car appeared from the fog, coming down the mountain side directly to her. She waited impatiently, practically pacing back and forth until the cart finally made its stop a few feet away from her. With a sigh of relief, she didn't hesitate to climb inside, closing the door and starting it again, sending it right back up the mountain. She sat in the very center of the seats, refusing to even look out the window. The fact the cart never seemed to stop squeaking as it escalated back up the mountain, Sarah also had a fear of extremely high places. After a few moments the nausea set in, and she decided that whatever might actually be up on the mountain, was definitely going to be easier to deal with than this.

It seemed like a near eternity before the cart finally came to a stop, surprising the girl to the point of a near heart attack. After calming herself from the shock, she managed to slip out of the cart with shaky legs, never feeling more grateful to be on solid ground. Crossing her arms over her chest, she once again pushed through the freezing cold, not enjoying just how windy it was becoming, only making the cold a million times worse. She could feel her lips chapping up, and her nose running dry. Luckily for her, it took less than ten minutes to arrive at the lodge since she had followed the path, and she couldn't help but let out a gentle and relieved sigh at the sight. It definitely didn't look like it had been lived in, ever. The wood was in as good of condition as it could be to constantly be in weather such as this.

So _why_ were there lights on inside?

Sarah pushed the thought away, too cold to really think into it. For all she knew, they could just leave the lights on at all times. It didn't sound logical, but then again, neither did rebuilding the lodge that took the life of your only three children. Rubbing her hands together, she approached the front door. Hesitation took over, her hand hovering over the door knob for a moment, wondering if this was really a good idea. Somehow, the idea of being so alone this far from civilization freaked her out a bit, but she chose to ignore it, her fear of the dark overpowering it as she turned the knob, stepping inside the lodge and closing the door quietly behind her.

Glancing around, the room was dimly lit, and the first thing to catch her attention was the stairs. They were _huge_ , going up in two separate directions, and down in one. Her jaw dropped slightly in awe, her gaze shifting over to the fireplace. It wasn't lit, but there was wood placed next to it. She found it rather odd how furnished this place was, considering no one had been up here. Were their parents obsessed? Were they trying to pretend it never happened?

Ignoring all the questions popping up in her mind, Sarah immediately dropped to her knees by the fire, placing a few logs over the rack, before picking up a nearby set of matches and lighting one, tossing it inside, waiting.

Nothing.

Cursing under her breath, Sarah reached into her bag and pulled out her bottle of perfume, unscrewing the lid and pouring some of the liquid over the logs. She waited a moment before trying another match, this time watching as the logs caught fire after a couple _pops_ from the perfume catching fire. Standing up, she walked over to the nearby recliner and pulled it closer to the fireplace, plopping down into the piece of furniture, waiting for the warmth to overtake her before she allowed herself to drift off soundly into a deep, much needed sleep, not even noticing the fresh ash that had been in the fire place just before she had put the logs in there, or the wet glass ring on the coffee table.


End file.
